THE OVERALL WEARING DUDE RANCH

Apple Valley was once well known for the guest ranches
that flourished there from about World War I to the
mid-1950s. Celebrities and plain folk alike sought
rest and recreation at such desert retreats as the
Yucca Loma Ranch and Dr. Garcelon's place (now
Stoddard Jess Ranch), which were the earliest of them all.

Others were Cal Godshall's prominent C Bar G Ranch;
Al Mendel's Circle M; the Lazy W Ranch; and McCarthy's,
located off the end of Corwin Road near today's airport.
However, after a divorce, McCarthy's wife kept this property,
and he began a new place, called Mac's Dude Ranch, out at
the eastern edge of town. There were also the Kemper
Campbell Ranch and the Three Sage Hens, and while they
were not within the limits of Apple Valley, they were
adjacent to the boundary.

All of these ranches had their own personalities,
and many tales have been told about them, but one
of the most unusual was the Murray Ranch, also known
as the "Overall Wearing Dude Ranch." Murray's was unique
in that it was owned by African-Americans and catered
to an African-American clientele, although not
exclusively. During its heyday in the 1940s and ‘50s,
the ranch was advertised as "The only Negro dude ranch
in the world" — and it may have been; nobody seems to
have challenged the claim.

MURRAY'S RANCH, WITH BELL MOUNTAIN IN BACKGROUND

Murray's also served as the
set for two of the world's only four black singing cowboy movies.
Many black celebrities found the low-key ranch life,
free from racial problems, just what they had been
looking for. The ranch eventually was purchased by
one of the most famous black celebrities of all, the
world-renowned singer and actress Pearl Bailey, who,
for nearly a decade, spent her days as an Apple Valley
housewife when she could get away from the demands of
her career in films and entertainment.